Apparatus for disseminating materials in liquids



` E. cowLEs 2,424,679 l APPARATUS FOR DISSEMINATING MATERIALS IN LIQUIDS July 29, 1947.

2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Nov. 18, 1942 BY v 84( ATTORNEYS E. COWLES July ,29,- 1947Q APPARATUS FOR DISSEMINATING MATERIALS IN LIQUIDS Filed Nov. 18, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I y INVENTOR vy-W ATTORNEY?? Patentes July 2,9, 1947 APPARATUS Fon nrssMmATiNG MATERIALS 1N mQUms Edwin Cowles, Cayuga. N. Y., assigner toirhe Cowles Company, Princeton,

tion of New Jersey N. J., a corpora- Application November 18, 1942, Serial No.'465,965

4 Claims. (Cl. 259-96) This invention relates to apparatus for disseminating or dispersing solids, gases or liquids in liquids. For example, the apparatus may be used for disintegrating, dispersing and maintaining in suspension divisible insoluble solids, arid for breaking up and putting into solution solids which are soluble. The apparatus may also be used for disseminating gases in liquids, and for disseminating one liquid in another liquid. Such mai chines are adapted for a wide range of uses, as

for example, for the treatment of paper stock, for deflberizing, for dissolving, for paint mixing, for the preparation of emulsions, etc.

The apparatus described and claimed herein constitutes improvements in machines such as shown in my prior Patents Nos. 2,219,571 and 2,265,936 and in my copending application Serial No. 314,107, led January 15, 1940, particularly with reference to the rotary impellers of such machines. It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine having a rotary impeller of improved efficiency and effectiveness.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

A preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a vertical section, through the machine.

Figure 2 is a topplan view of the impeller.

Figure 3 is a vertical section through the impeller.

Figure 4 an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the rim of the impeller,

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5--5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a vertical section through a modified type of machine.-A

Figure 7 is a vertical section through a machine adapted for continuous operation.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5 oi. the drawings, the invention is' illustrated as applied to a machine particularly adapted for use for mixing or dislsolving. The apparatus comprises a tank or casing I having a. cover 2. Extending upwardly from the cover is a vertical flange 3 supporting a platform 4 supporting a motor and drive assembly adapted to rotate the impeller. t

In the embodiment illustrated a motor -5 having a vertical shaft is mounted on the platform, the lower end of the shaft carrying a pulley 6 located in the compartment between the cover 2 and platform 4. A bearing housing l is also mounted on the platform 4, the impeller shaft Il extending exceed the diameter of the impeller.

2 housing is resiliently mounted on the platform as by interposing the rubber blocks 9 and I0 between the housing assembly and the supporting flange Il. A pulley I2 is mounted on the shaft 8 and is driven by a V-belt connection to the motor pulley 8.

The tank or casing may be of any suitable shape and dimensions, but is shown herein as cylindrical in shape with the axis of the impeller shaft arranged coaxially with the axis of the cylinder. In order to avoid dead spOtS or sluggish circulation in certain parts of the tank, the diameter of the tank should not-too greatly Good results.r are obtained when, as illustrated, the diameter of the tank is approximately three times the diameter of the impeller. As an additional precaution against "dead spots the places in the interior of the tank where the circulation is most likely to be sluggish may be lled as by the corner fillets I3 and the-conical hood I4 located centrally below the impeller.

The impeller I6 is secured to the lower end of the shaft 8 in any suitable manner and is spaced from the bottom of the tank to permit circulation both above and below the impeller as hereinafter described. The impeller comprises an imperforate disk flared near the rim thereof to provide the bevelled ,surfaces I'I inclining upwardly from the upper surface of the disk and downwardly from the bottomsurface thereof.

Mounted on the impeller adjacent the riml and .l

projecting upwardly and downwardly therefrom within the area of the bevelled ,surfaces Il are a multiplicity of impeller vanes I8, which are generally similar to the impeller vanes disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 314,107 and in PatentNo. 2,265,936. As shown, such vanes are rounded at their leading ends in both horizontal and vertical sections, and these rounded portions merge into flat side walls. `At the trailing ends of the vanes the side walls converge to form pointed tails. \As set forth in said application Serial No.' 314,107, the height of said vanes above the surface of the disk is small relative to the diameter of the disk, and should preierably not exceed a ratio of 1 to 30. For example, using a disk having a diameter of 12", the height of the vanes should' not exceed .4" and vshould preferably be somewhat less. so that the disks of materials discharged from the impellerby the action of the vanes will be relatively thin. In the case of impellers of very small diameter, as for example, impellers having a diameter of 6" downwardly therefrom. Preferably the bearing es or less, the above-mentioned ratio of 1 to 30 may by the upper vanes is deected upwardly and the material discharged fromvthe lower vanes is deected. downwardly, thus causing `the upper and lower disks of discharged material to diverge.

This is of great importance vto the .efficiency of operation of the apparatus, and the reasons for its importance may be explained as follows. vIt will be understood that in utilizing the principle of high velocity discharge as set forth `Yin Sly prior patents previously referred to, the greatest dis- 'integrating effect .takes place alongA the surfaces f of the material which is moving at high velocity,

i. e., at the places where there is the greatest Vdierential in velocity between the high velocity material discharged from the impeller and the surrounding body of relatively slow moving material. In using impeilershaving impeller vanes on both the upper and lower surfaceof the impeller disk, I have discovered that the upper and lower disks of discharged material 'tendto converge and merge, and since the lower surface of the upper disk of discharged material is moving at the same velocity as the upper surface of .the

lower disk, the desiredv disintegrating effect is lost along those surfaces. As a result, while the power consumed by the impeller is ygreatly increased by the extra set of vanes, theA disintegrating e'ect is hardly increased at all, and the efficiency of the machine is loweredA considerably.

By the use' of bevelledsurfaces at the rim of the impeller, however, the discharged disks of material arg caused to diverge so that there exists a body of relatively slow moving material therebetween against which the high velocity material may act to secure the di'erential ofV velocity required for effective disintegration. Thus, ef- Ifestive disintegrating. action takes place at both the upper and lower surfaces of the upper disk of discharged material, and at boththe upper and lower surfacesfof the lower disk of discharged material.

As indicated by arrows in Figure l, the lower vanes induce a circulation in the bottom of the tank which, in the vertical plane, is outward from the impeller, downward, inward and upward. while the upper vanes induce a circulation which is outward from the impeller, upward. inward and downward.- Such circulation inthe vertical plane is combined, of lcourse, with circulation in the horizontal plane, resulting in vortical type circulation below the impeller and in the creation offa, hollow core vortex above the impeller.

The latter is extremely useful in submerging any material which may tend to float .on the surface, thus carrying such' material immediately to the limpeller where it is subjected to disilegrating action. In Figure 6, the invention is illustrated as applied to the disseminating ofgases in liquids or to thedisseminating of one vliquid in another liquid. In this case a pipe or tubej 20' is led in through the bottom of the tank I to a point be- 45 -culatory movement;` -is rial"along"each of saidvdi er Y diverging directions.'

4 the axis thereof. The gas or liquid to be disseminated is then discharged slowly through the pipe 20, and the circulation of the liquid in the tank together with gravity, in the case of gases, brings the sas or liquid against the bottom face of the impeller. whence it is quickly subjected to the disseminating action 'of fthe"impeller.

In Figure?, the invention is illustrated as applied to a continuous, as distinguished from a l batch, operation. In this case a plurality of impe1lers25 are mounted on a common shaft 2l which extends downwardly through a cylindrical casing 21./ For best results, each of the impellers should have a diameter not less than one third the diameterof `the casing, and the impellers should be spaced along the shaft at distances .not less than the radius of the impellers. The impeller shaft may be hung from the top of the casing and driven in a manner similar to the shaft lof Figure 1.

-A pipe 28-is connected to thecasing along the side wall thereof near `the-top, preferably-*above the topmost impeller anda second pipe `28 is connected to the bottom ofthe casing. These pipes 28 and 29 may be usedinterchangeably as inlet and outlet passages, i. e., the pipe 28 may be used as an inlet passage'` and the pipe 29 as an outlet, passage. or the pipe 29 maybe used as an inlet passage and the pipe 28 as an outlet 30 passage. .A

The circulation of the material in the casing` is indicatedby the arrows, and as indicated, each impeller induces r a circulating movement both above and belowi its plane. If it be assumed now that new material is introduced into the casing through the pipe 28, and treated material is Withdrawnl at approximately the same rate through the pipe 29, it will be seen that there will'be-a gradual downward movement of the 40 material in the casing, with the Vmaterial passing successively from -one circulating zone to the next and being subjected to disintegrating action in each zone. By maintaining vthe ,impeller diameter relationships above described, the cirsuiiiciently vigorous throughout the casing to prevent material from moving through the casing without being caught in the circulating paths and subjected to-:repeated disintegrating action.

5o It will be understood that the inventionmay be variously modified and embodied within the scope oi' the subioined claims. f y

I claim as my invention: s l. Apparatus* of the class described, comprising, a casing, an imperforate impeller mounted for rotation in said casing, said-impellerhaving diverging surfacesl adjacent the rim thereof, and a multiplicity of impeller vanes projecting'upwardly and downwardly. fromsaid diverging surmfaces and discharging material along each of said diverging surfaces in diverging directions.

2.,Apparatus of the class described, comprising, a casing, 'an imperforate/fimp'eller mounted for rotation in 'said'ca'singi'said' impellercomprising 'a disk ilared` near theA rim'lthereof tol provide diverging bevelled. surfaces inclininguupwardly fromv the upper surface and downwardly from the lower surface thereof, I'and multiplicity of impeller-vanes projectingjupwardly and 7o. downwardly from said 'impeller' within thej'area of said bevelled surfacesan ischarging, hiate- 3' Apparatus of the cass ,iwafsng,

neath the impeller, preferably immediately below 'IlI a casing, ana imperforate'iniplleriinouted for rotation in said casing, said impeller comprising a disk flared near the rim thereof to provide diverging bevelled surfaces inclining up-A wardly from the upper surface and downwardly from the lower surface thereof, a. multiplicity of impelier vanes projecting upwardly and downwardly from said impeller within the area of said bevelled surfaces and discharging material along each of said diverging surfaces in diverging directions, and means for discharging material to be disseminated at a point below said impeller near the axis thereof.

4. Apparatus of the class described, comprising, a casing, a shaft extending into said casing, said shaft carrying a plurality'of imperiorate impellers mounted for rotationv in said casing and submerged in the liquid contents of the container, each of said impellers having dlverging surfaces adjacent the rim thereof, a multiplicity of impeller varies projecting upwardly and downwardly from said diverging surfaces and discharging material along each of said diverglng surfaces in diverging directions, and said casing being provided with openings at opposite ends of said casing through which material. may be .in-

' troduced into and withdrawn from said casing, said material being subjected to successive action by said impellers while passing from one opening 5 to the other.

EDWIN COWLES.

REFERENCES 'CITED The following -references are of record in the 10 le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS l France ...1.--- July 17, 1939 

